Cops: Man may have been shot over grandson's drug dealing

May 07, 2010

A 66-year-old man was shot in his legs Thursday afternoon in the South Side's Chatham community because he couldn't disclose the whereabouts of his grandson who, police say, may have upset some buyers of illegal drugs by selling them "bad dope."

It's unclear if the victim's assailant was one of those buyers or tied to the drug transactions and police today were looking to question the grandson, whose whereabouts were unknown, police said.

The shooting happened about 1 p.m. Thursday near East 88th Street and South Wabash Avenue in the Chatham community on the South Side. The victim was continuing to receive treatment today at Advocate Trinity Hospital, police said.

Police said the shooting victim was an innocent bystander and not connected to any drug dealing. The victim was reported in serious condition Thursday, but an updated condition for him today wasn't available.

The victim was walking toward his home from a store when a vehicle with at least two people inside pulled up near him. One of them asked the man if he'd seen his grandson, police said. The man responded he hadn't and had no idea where he was.

The driver of the vehicle then shouted, "Get him", police said, and the man who was doing the questioning got out of the vehicle and opened fire on the man. The gunman then got back in the vehicle and drove off.

Police were told by family members of the victim that the grandson was known to spend time in parts of the city where illegal drug transactions are made, and may have made some buyers angry by selling them "bad dope."

No one was in custody for the shooting and a description of the gunman wasn't available this morning.

The shooting came a day after Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) and various police officials gathered at St. Mark United Methodist Church, 8441 S. St. Lawrence Ave., to discuss strategies in curbing gun violence in Chatham and other South Side communities.

While the gathering was in progress, two teens were wounded in a shooting in Chatham--about five blocks from the church--in the 800 block of East 82nd Street.